Dean and the Decade Bird
by Andrew Scott.Hi
Summary: In a faraway land, Dean hunts the strange and dangerous all by himself... but little does he know that his next hunt will reveal something about his past that has remained shrouded in mystery for years.


**Ok, so this is really weird but I had fun writing it soooo...**

**Prompt: Fantasy AU Princess Rescue Story**

In the forgotten land of Broad there was a feared Hunter by the name of Dean. He was feared by ordinary and mystical beings alike, for he sought out the most dangerous quarry. He traveled from town to town on the back of a ginormous Impala, its unusually dark fur brushed to an unnatural shine. His weapons were also unusual, gleaming engraved blades and sharpened bones.

The people in each town only knew that when Dean would come riding into town, he would leave with a mystical animal or townsperson dead in his wake. What they didn't know was that when he seemingly killed a citizen, they were either possessed and beyond help or no longer human. What no one knew about Dean, not really even Dean himself, was that he was missing something. His other half, a woman, some would say, his purpose. (In the land of Broad, your spouse was called your 'Purpose'.) Dean knew he was broken, but perhaps he didn't know that a piece was missing.

Dean was abandoned as a five year old, and so raised until he was just over a decade old in a dingy old orphanage. He left with nothing but the promise that he wasn't long for this world to wish him luck on his travels. He was taken in by a man called Singer who taught him the life of a Hunter, how to save people, kill monsters, and ask for nothing in return. He set out to hunt on his own at nineteen.

Now, throughout his travels, Dean had heard many strange tales about a god named Ihnas, who had no other purpose than to bring pleasure and entertainment to himself. There was one particular story called Ihnas and the Decade Bird , which Singer had told him many times when he was small. In it, Ihnas had wanted a son, and so took a small child from a 'house of lost children' and raised him as his own. Dean could relate, being taken in by someone at a young age. Dean, as a little boy, would ask if Singer was Ihnas, and Singer would give some gruff reply that he'd seen and done too much in his life to be a carefree god of parties.

The tale of Ihnas described a pet bird, to put it simply. This bird was legend to be the most beautiful in the land, complete with golden feathers and fanciful plumes on its head and tail. It was only allowed to venture out into the world once every ten years to feed at an altar to Ihnas. Apparently, Ihnas had eventually grown bored of his son, and had instead turned his attention to the bird.

Dean knew the gods were not myths, he had destroyed some of the more malignant. So why not Ihnas and his golden bird? The god's only remaining temple was in Cloln, where Dean was currently. How convenient. If he managed to get lucky, he would be able to spy on the god when he appeared in his temple (as all gods tend to do often). Ihnas was very powerful, however, so Dean would not be able to put him out of action for long.

And so that is how Dean came to be lying in wait in a dark corner of Ihnas's temple. Night had just fallen when all the candles and torches in the room flickered to life. A jaunty, round man trounced into the room, ripping meat off bones with his teeth. He sat down at a table of offerings, and popped a couple fat grapes into his mouth. The god wasn't supposed to be terribly clever, so Dean took his chances. He whisked out of the corner and pressed a shining silver blade coated with phoenix ash to the Ihnas's throat. A little squeak issued from the god, before he composed himself.

"I'll cut to the chase. What is it you want, mortal?" Ihnas sneered.

"I'll tell you what I want, chuckles. I want you to shut up and tell me where the bird is."

"Touchy. You're talking about Baruch. You know, he doesn't like that name, always insisted it wa-"

"You said you'd cut to the chase. Do I look like I want to wait?"

"I can't see you you're standing behind me with a knife to my neck."

"Do ya really want to tes-"

"Fine. You're lucky. Ten years comes up around five tomorrow morning. I was actually coming here to make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"And gorge yourself."

"That too."

Dean sliced Ihna's head off with one quick stroke, and quickly dropped the head into a vase and sealed it. He reckoned he had twenty four hours before the weakened god reanimated, so he would have to hurry. Dean settled in for another long wait, and, just as Ihnas had said, a massive bird soon appeared. Glistening in the early morning sunlight as it fluttered through a broken window and settled down to pick at a head of lettuce. Dean snorted internally. _There's literally a whole thing of ham right next to it. _ Now all there was was the chase. He would have to follow to its lair and capture while it slept.

Sure enough, 'Baruch' soon flew off, casting an almost wistful look over its shoulder at a plate of tomatoes. Dean swung a leg over the Impala's back, snapped the black leather reins, and took off after the glint of gold in the sky.

It was a seven hour journey, but thankfully Dean was able to see the bird through the tree cover as he rode through the Forest of Acoden. Soon they reached a ravine, and Dean watched as the golden bird swooped lazily down and into a cave at the bottom. Dean tied the Impala to a willow tree and began the climb down the rocky slope. His feet skidded on the loose rocks and thorny branches tore at his body and clothing, but he arrived in one piece at the bottom of the ravine. After checking he hadn't lost his net and blade, Dean crept slowly towards the mouth of the cave.

When Dean had just reached the dark opening, he cocked his head to the side, freezing. A violent rustling sound was echoing from inside the cavern, like trees clashing in a storm. Like… feathers. And claws too, scraping against the stone as the bird shrieked with what sounded like pain.

_Something isn't right. _Dean thought, and then, with a tinge of guilt, _I probably won't get as much for it injured. _He drew in a deep breath and stole a glance around the corner. He found himself frozen once again. A series of iron chains stretched across the opening, linking the walls of the cave every couple feet up to the jagged ceiling. The massive golden bird was gone. Behind the iron chains was a prone human form, shivering as he huddled against the stone. A frown creased Deans brow when he saw criss-crossing scars across the man's (bird?) back. No one said things about gods, simply out of fear, but it was common knowledge that they were a lot crueler than they like to be seen.

_So… that's the bird, but Ihnas had a son… _Abandoning all caution, Dean stepped out into the mouth of the cavern. Baruch continued to shudder against the wall against the cold, or perhaps still in pain. Dean cleared his throat.

"Hello," Dean said, trying to sound strong but his voice cracked with emotion he couldn't identify, much tell where it was from. The man's head whipped around, shoulder length brown hair flung out of his face as his eyes widened with fear.

"Who are you?" Baruch croaked, still wild with panic as he tried to scramble farther away, hugging himself into a ball.

With no idea how else to answer, he replied, "Dean. I'm a hunter." But as Baruch curled into himself even more, he thought better. "But unless you wanna eat my liver or somethin' I won't hurt you."

"I couldn't if I wanted to," Baruch mumbled, staring at Dean warily. "Ihnas cursed those chains so I can only leave once a decade, and then only as a bird."

"So you're really-"

"Human, yeah." The man said, his voice rough from underuse. Dean contemplated, then stepped forward and over a chain until he was on the same side of the cavern as Baruch. Dean glared at his hands, waiting for them to sprout feathers, but none appeared.

"Ok," He said, and pulled a fur cloak off his back. "I'm gonna help you get out of here, but you should put this on first. You must be freezing."

"Used to it." Baruch said, but let Dean approach all the same. As he draped the fur over the man's shoulders, he looked up at Dean, a muscle going nervously in his jaw.

_No. Wait… no. _Dean felt his mouth drop open. There was something terribly familiar about those grey eyes. Something tugged at the back of his mind, something from long ago, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Uh, Baruch-"

"That's just what Ihnas calls me," he said, pulling at the hem of the cloak. Dean shook his head.

"What're you called then." Dean whispered, tense for some strange reason.

"Sam," He said uncertainty.

Dean's eyes searched Sam's face wildy. Something, some unreachable memory was pounding at his skull, his fractured heart, _what was it? _Dean knelt down and grabbed Sam's shoulder, stopped him from twisting away.

"_Sam," _Dean said frantically. "_Do you know where Ihnes took you from?_"

"Uh, an orphanage in Creed about twenty years ago. All Ihnas said was he only wanted the one… you don't thin-"

_Oh. _

Dean hugged him, held Sam tighter than he'd ever held anything in his life, because this, _him, _he was what he'd been missing. Tears gathered under Dean's eyelids. Finally, he pulled back, only to see that Sam's eyes were red as well.

"I've never big hugged before." Sam said, stunned.

"Well," Dean said, grinning, "Now you've got a big brother to take care of you."

"Wha-"

"Sam, I was raised for ten years in the only orphanage in Creed. It was me and this older girl, and that's all I remembered."

"Until now."

"Until n- oh. _Oh."_

"We don't have much time. Let's get you out of here." Dean tore his eyes away from his rediscovered little brother and hacked through the metal chained with a heavy blade he drew from his side. Hooking an arm around Sam's waist, Dean helped him out of the cave, and with a bit of trouble, up the ravine.

…

After two day journey (Sam on the Impala with Dean leading it on foot), they arrived in a town much smaller and safer than than Cloln. It went by the name of Vey, and was thankfully free of vengeance-seeking gods. They got Sam some clothes, and stayed in town for a couple weeks while they sorted through the years they'd missed. Each moment Dean spent with Sam (who he'd nicknamed Sammy), he could feel a piece of his heart being returned, and for the first time in his whole life, he felt whole. He taught Sam how to hunt to stop beings like Ihnas.

They spent many, _many_ years saving people and hunting things. _You might even call it the family business. _Dean thought, years later, as he and Sam clinked their cups together in a tavern.


End file.
